Read Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division Online
Authors: Peter Hook
Tags: #Punk, #Personal Memoirs, #Music, #Biography & Autobiography, #Genres & Styles, #Composers & Musicians
Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division (19 page)
So maybe they’d broken down. Well, if they’d broken down they’d be all right because Steve was in the AA. I wasn’t even sure I had enough petrol left to go back for them
and
get home anyway. We had no room in the van anyway. So in the end we made a decision: we’d go home. Which is what we did, and it was only the next day in work that I phoned somebody and they told me what had happened. I just remember thinking,
Oh shit. There’s something wrong with Ian.
During the return journey from the gig there had been a minor altercation in the car. Disconsolate about the evening’s performance, Ian had been talking about leaving the band and then pulled flu-ridden Bernard’s sleeping bag from him. Having wrapped it around his head, he began lashing out at the doors and windows: he was fitting. The others pulled the car over on the motorway and laid Ian down to restrain him on the hard shoulder. This event
culminated with a shaken Steve Morris taking the cigarettes out of Ian’s pocket, as immortalized in
24 Hour Party People
. Then they drove him to the nearest hospital, Luton and Dunstable, where he was given tablets and referred to his doctor. Ian was dropped home to a worried Debbie by Steve and Gillian, and was given an appointment to see a specialist. In the meantime he began having more fits – three or four a week – until on 23 January 1979 at Macclesfield District and General Hospital he was officially diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed more tablets.
JANUARY 1978–DECEMBER 1978
24 January 1978
Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus devise their ‘management project’, the Movement of the 24
th
January (or M24J for short) formed to oversee the career of the Durutti Column. They later launch the Factory club to provide the band with a live outlet and go on to start Factory records.
25 January 1978
Joy Division play Pips Discotheque, Manchester. This is the band’s first gig under the new name.
14 April 1978
The Stiff Test/Chiswick Challenge Battle of the Bands, Rafters, Manchester.
Having been confronted by Ian Curtis earlier in the evening, Tony Wilson was impressed by Joy Division when they went on at 2.15am, following an argument with the Negatives, and delivered a suitably fired-up performance. Rob Gretton also saw the light that evening; and soon he and Wilson, who were already friends from Rafters, were comparing notes.
May 1978
Rob Gretton visits the band, who accept his offer to become their manager.
3–4 May 1978
The unreleased-album sessions, Arrow Studios, Manchester. Tracks recorded: ‘The Drawback (All of This for You)’, ‘Leaders of Men’, ‘They Walked in Line’, ‘Failures’, ‘Novelty’, ‘No Love Lost’, ‘Transmission’, ‘Ice Age’, ‘Interzone’, ‘Warsaw’, ‘Shadowplay’.
20 May 1978
Joy Division play the Mayflower Club, Manchester, with Emergency and the Risk.
3 June 1978
An Ideal for Living
seven-inch EP officially released as part of a distribution deal with Rabid. (Enigma PSS 139.) Photography by Gareth Davy. Cover design by Bernard Albrecht. Track list: ‘Warsaw’, ‘No Love Lost’, ‘Leaders of Men’, ‘Failures’.
9 June 1978
The
Short Circuit – Live at the Electric Circus
ten-inch LP (Virgin Records VCL 5003) is released, featuring ‘At a Later Date’, credited to Joy Division (though the band were called Warsaw when it was recorded on 2 October 1977). Other bands featured are the Fall, Steel Pulse, the Drones, John Cooper Clarke and the Buzzcocks. Produced by Mike Howlett. Design/artwork & typography by Russell Mills.
9 June 1978
Joy Division play the Factory, Russell Club, Manchester, supporting the Tiller Boys as part of the Factory club’s opening concerts. Admission: £1.
12 July 1978
Joy Division play Band on the Wall, Manchester, a Manchester Musicians’ Collective gig.
15 July 1978
Joy Division play Eric’s, Liverpool (matinee and evening shows), supporting the Rich Kids.
“They wouldn’t talk to us, and wouldn’t even let us in the dressing room. The only one of them who was nice was Midge Ure. He actually spoke to us.”
27 July 1978
Joy Division play Roots Club, Leeds, supporting the Durutti Column.
“We went for a meal before the gig and that was where I first noticed how sickly and delicate Vini Reilly was. You know when you look at someone and think, ‘Fucking hell, it’s going to be tough on you, mate’? We went to an Indian restaurant in Leeds for something to eat before the gig; I remember Vini asked for Heinz tomato soup. In an Indian restaurant in Leeds. Because of his constitution he couldn’t eat anything else.
Also, I can’t say for sure but I think the third support was the Fairbrass brothers, who later became Right Said Fred. Years later I was at a Skin Two fetish party in London that ended with an unrepeatable story involving them, lots of naughties and Cleo Rocos. Earlier that night one of them had said to me, ‘We supported you in Leeds in 1978 as Joy Division,’ and gave me a big cuddle. The next time I saw him was through the roof of one of those huge stretch limos, and he was . . . Well, let’s just leave it there.”
28 July 1978
Joy Division play the Factory, Russell Club, Manchester, supporting Suicide with the Actors. Admission: ‘A quid at the door’.
“Ian and Steve were really thrilled about this gig because Suicide were a pretty avant-garde group and those two, being the most musically forward-thinking of us all, loved them. I got into a lot of music through Ian and Suicide were one of the bands he introduced me to. I love how all their songs sound like intros.”
29 August 1978
Joy Division play Band on the Wall, Manchester, with Stage 2 and the Elite.
4 September 1978
Joy Division play Band on the Wall, Manchester. The gig is promoted by Rob Gretton, who also designed the poster.
9 September 1978
Joy Division play Eric’s, Liverpool, supporting Tanz Der Youth. (Andy Colquhoun of Warsaw Pakt was a member of Tanz Der Youth for a time.) Admission: 60p members; 90p guests.
10 September 1978
Joy Division play the Royal Standard, Bradford, supported by Emergency ‘and disco’. Admission: 80p in advance; £1 on the door.
“It was full of National Front skinheads. That was a terrifying evening. We had to pretend to be Nazis to get out alive. How ironic.”
20 September 1978
Joy Division appear on
Granada Reports
, introduced by Tony Wilson; they play ‘Shadowplay’, overlaid with negative offcuts from
World in Action
.
“They put those cars on it because they thought we were boring to look at, but that was what Tony liked about us – that we were reserved. Maybe Ian took it to heart, I don’t know, but it was around then that he started doing his dancing more often, which became his trademark.”
22 September 1978
Joy Division play the Coach House, Huddersfield.
“One person turned up. It was diabolical.”
26 September 1978
Joy Division play Band on the Wall, Manchester, with Dust and A Certain Ratio.
“ACR had a guitarist whose hair was like a chunk of cheese. So we used to call him Cheesehead.”
2 October 1978
Joy Division play the Institute of Technology, Bolton, supported by the Curbs.
“I remember going to that gig, because I remember parking outside (which is always handy). I don’t remember anything else about it, though.”
10 October 1978
The
An Ideal for Living
twelve-inch EP (Anonymous ANON1) is released. This is a twelve-inch reissue, 2,000 copies only. Recorded at Pennine Sound Studios, December 1977. Cover design by Steve McGarry. Photography by D. B. Glen. Track list: ‘Warsaw’, ‘No Love Lost’, ‘Leaders of Men’, ‘Failures’.
11 October 1978
The
A Factory Sample
session, Cargo Studios, Rochdale. Produced by Martin Hannett. Engineered by John Brierley. Tracks recorded: ‘Digital’, ‘Glass’.
12 October 1978
Joy Division play Kelly’s, Manchester, with the Risk, for Rock Against Racism. Admission: £1 on the door.
“This was in aid of a great cause. We were proud to support it.”
20 October 1978
Joy Division play the Factory, Manchester, supporting Cabaret Voltaire and the Tiller Boys. Admission: £1.
The intensity, the passion of this music completely eclipsed anything the audience had seen in a long, long time.
Mick Middlehurst, writing in the
Face
, 1980
The poster for the event was given the catalogue number FAC 3 (FAC 1 was Peter Saville’s Factory-club poster and FAC 2 was the A Factory Sample EP, not yet released).
“The first time we played at the Factory there were, like, fifteen or twenty people there but by this stage we had two or three hundred turning up. It was great to play with Cabaret Voltaire, too. Mal and Richard, lovely lads. And it was a great poster. I still have a lot of the posters, but people borrow them for exhibitions and whatever and never give me them back. I’ve lost loads.”
24 October 1978
Joy Division play the Fan Club, Brannigan’s, Leeds, supporting Cabaret Voltaire.
“Come to think of it I don’t think any of the Cabs were under investigation for being the Yorkshire Ripper. Hm . . .”
26 October 1978
Joy Division play Band on the Wall, Manchester (possibly a Manchester Musicians’ Collective gig).
4 November 1978
Joy Division play Eric’s, Liverpool (matinee and evening shows), supporting Ded Byrds and John Cooper Clarke.
“Ded Byrds had a female saxophonist, and Terry and Ian did something to the reed on her saxophone that I can’t possibly repeat here. I’m sorry, but I’m just going to have to leave it to your imagination – but judging by her face it tasted vile! Meanwhile, Barney and Twinny were also up to something unrepeatable round the back of the car park. An action-packed gig, that one, on stage and off.”
14 November 1978
Joy Division play the Odeon, Canterbury, as part of their tour with the Rezillos and the Undertones.
“The Undertones – they were so young. They’d bought an air pistol and were having target practice backstage, shooting cans off the stairs. Then someone brought in letters from home because they’d been away touring for a while, and next thing they were all crying in the dressing room reading letters off their mums. Me and Ian were looking at each other like,
Aw, isn’t that sweet?
”
15 November 1978
Joy Division play Brunel University, Uxbridge.
Unfortunately the set was cut very short; there can’t have been any more than four or five numbers. The reason being that a part of the audience was still into the spitting thing and took a big dislike to Ian. They covered the poor man from head to foot. At the end of ‘Digital’, Ian had clearly had enough and said quite politely to the audience, “I see you are not educated down south,” and promptly walked off. He was quickly followed by Sumner and Hook. Steve Morris realized it was over and scrambled from his drums, unfortunately he had to walk past the front of them to exit the stage and he tripped on a speaker cable, the crowed jeered and heckled him, he picked himself up, hurled some obscenities and walked off.
Martin (fan), on
joydiv.org
19 November 1978
Joy Division sound-check but don’t play Locarno, Bristol.
The last time I saw Joy Division was at the Locarno in Bristol. They’d travelled down from Manchester to be told that The Rezillos had split up and instead John Otway and Chelsea were to headline that night, with us on stage first. No room on the bill for Joy Division. That’s showbusiness, that is.
Mickey Bradley, bassist, the Undertones
20 November 1978
Joy Division play the Check Inn, Altrincham, supported by Surgical Supports and Bidet Boys. Admission: £1.
Joy Division were okay and could well prove to be to next year what The Fall have been to Manchester this year and what Buzzcocks were to last year.
Record Mirror
“We’d been told all the posh girls lived in Altrincham and Hale, and we thought,
Wow: yes! for
that reason. Otherwise we had the feeling that the Check Inn wasn’t going to be very wild and (lo and behold) when we played it, it wasn’t. It was a dreadful gig and a dreadful audience, no girls at all. The only redeeming factor was that we didn’t have far to go home.”
